Churches & Religious Sites in Lisbon

Lisbon’s churches chart the city’s whole biography. The fortress-like cathedral was begun in 1147, the year Christian crusaders took the city from the Moors, and has survived every earthquake since. The great monastery at Belém was funded by pepper and cinnamon money and took a century to carve. And the roofless Gothic church in the Chiado stands exactly as the 1755 earthquake left it, kept as a memorial more moving than any museum.

Cruise passengers are well placed for church visits because several of the finest sit on the natural walking routes from the terminal through Alfama and the Baixa. Most churches are free or inexpensive to enter, making them the best-value sightseeing in the city, though the famous monastic cloisters charge admission and reward pre-booked tickets.

Two practicalities. Churches here are working places of worship: shoulders and knees covered is the expected courtesy, and visits may be restricted during Mass, typically Sunday mornings. And do look down as well as up; many of Lisbon’s finest azulejo tile panels line church walls and cloisters, telling saints’ lives in blue and white across entire rooms.